Five for Fighting

Five for Fighting is the stage name of US singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. His 2000 album America Town went platinum in the US due to the success of the song "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in late 2001. The 2004 al

Five for Fighting is the stage name of US singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. His 2000 album America Town went platinum in the US due to the success of the song "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in late 2001. The 2004 album The Battle For Everything has also enjoyed chart success in the US.

John Ondrasik was born in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. He grew up there in a musical family with his mother teaching him the piano from the age of two. As a teenager, he learned how to play the guitar as well and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he quickly decided that he would like to be a piano playing popular musician along the lines of Elton John and Billy Joel. He adopted the name "Five for Fighting" which is an expression in ice hockey when a player is sent from the rink by the referee for a major penalty. The reason for use of the name is that it would be more memorable than his real name.